Her body rocked as I teased her clit, alternating tongue and teeth with just enough differing pressure to keep her from getting used to it. I felt her muscles tensing as she tried to move her legs and arms, fingers curling as they sought for something to dig into. When I was certain she realized that she had no way of controlling what I did – short of stopping things completely – I put my mouth over her clit and applied the hard suction that had always gotten me results in the past.
She was no exception.
“Fuck!” She practically screamed the word, her hips jerking. “Alix. Please!”
I hummed laughter and let the vibrations add to her torment.
“Oh fuck.” Her back arched, muscles spasming as she tried to fight back what I knew was inevitable. “Please, Alix.”
“Please what?” I asked, drinking in the sight of her flushed skin, her desperate expression.
“Please let me come.”
I pressed my mouth against her inner thigh, sucking until I left a mark. “Why would I do that?” I asked.
“Alix.” The word came out as a whine, but it was the kind of sound that made my neglected cock perk up and take notice.
“We made a bet that you could hold off coming until I gave you permission,” I reminded her. “But we never said that I had to give it as soon as you asked.”
“Bastard,” she growled at me.
“Let’s get back to it, shall we?”
After nearly two full minutes of garbled curses in an accent so thick I could barely understand any of her words, she came with a scream.
As much as I wanted to gloat, I needed to be inside her more. I straightened into a more comfortable position and adjusted my grip as I lifted her. I hesitated for a moment to give her the chance to say the word, but when she didn’t do anything more than moan my name, I slammed into her.
She cried out again, eyes flying open so that her gaze met mine. I held it as I wrapped my fingers around her shoulders. She was so small that it was easy for me to move her to meet my thrusts, each one hard enough to drive a burst of air from her lungs.
She came a second time, the ripples of her muscles around my cock sending me racing to the edge. I fought my body, determined to give her at least one more climax, but as she chanted my name, I satisfied myself with knowing that I was drawing out the one she was having now, and then I let go.
I clutched her to me as white-hot pleasure raced through my veins. I couldn’t say what I wanted from her, or even really what I felt, but the one solid thing I knew to be true was that the woman in my arms had knocked my world off its axis, and nothing would ever be the same.
16
Sine
I stretched but didn’t throw off my covers. I had the air conditioning on a low enough temperature that I was usually able to sleep comfortably with a sheet and a light blanket, but I’d woken up yesterday wrecked and aching. By noon, I was coughing, and my head ached. With my new job and responsibilities, I couldn’t afford to be ill, so I forced myself to the closest free clinic. I’d gotten back hours later, even more miserable than before, but at least fortified with medication and vitamins.
I’d hoped I would wake up mended today, but that was wishful thinking on my part. I wasn’t ill often, but when I was, it hit me hard. Da had always said it was because I pushed myself until something had to give.
I rubbed my forehead and glanced over at my clock. It was almost time to take my medicine again. I didn’t want to get up, but I’d purposefully left it in the bathroom so I’d have to do just that.
I splashed some water on my face before retrieving what I needed. As I shut the cabinet door, I caught sight of my reflection and grimaced. Good thing it was still the weekend. I didn’t quite understand why Alix thought I was a good model, though the pictures I’d seen showed a woman different than the one I saw in the mirror. But now, even he would be unable to find anything attractive in how I looked.
A warmth spread through me at the thought of Alix, and I allowed myself a smile. I didn’t know exactly what we were doing, but I’d thoroughly enjoyed our post-session sex Thursday afternoon, and if I was being honest, I wouldn’t mind more of it. I always thought I wasn’t the sort of person who would really enjoy sex since I hadn’t particularly liked it with the two guys I’d slept with before Alix, but he was making me reconsider that way of thinking.
Even the memory of my time with Alix wasn’t enough to keep me on my feet for long though. I wrapped my blanket more tightly around my shoulders and shuffled into the kitchen. I heated up one of those pre-packaged bowls of soup that never tasted as good as what Mam made, retrieved a bottle of water, and then made my way into the living room.
I managed to eat and drink most of my meal, but not too long after I finished, I fell back asleep. It was my phone ringing that woke me from a dreamless sleep. It’d already gone to voicemail by the time I managed to get awake enough to grab it from the table, but Mam’s number still showed on the screen, so I tapped the callback option before she could wait her usual five minutes and call again.
That had always been Mam’s way. If we didn’t answer when she called, she wouldn’t give up until she got ahold of us. One time, when my brother Ian had been out with some friends, he hadn’t answered her call, so she’d driven to the pub. There he was, chatting up some girl when Mam came in wearing a housecoat, her hair in curlers. Our tiny mother had grabbed his ear and dragged him out, then took him straight to the local priest and waited outside while Ian was in confession.
“Morning, Mam,” I said as soon as she answered.
“What’s wrong with ya, darlin’?”
Her familiar voice washed over me, and I closed my eyes as a wave of homesickness followed. It was times like these that I missed my mother.
“Not feelin’ well, Mam.” Whenever I talked to either of my parents, especially her, I sounded like I’d never left home.
“Are ya eatin’ enough?”
“Yes, Mam.” I smiled as she began her usual line of questioning. I knew it all by heart, but I let her go about it anyway. It was nice to have someone make a fuss for once.
I settled back onto the couch and snuggled down into my little nest of blankets. It wasn’t as good as Mam being here to take care of me, but listening to her fuss was a nice consolation prize.
“Are ya sure yer takin’ care of yourself, Sine?”
“I am, Mam,” I promised for the third time.
“Now tell me more about this job Donald mentioned.”
I mentally cursed my favorite brother while I tried to figure out the best way to explain things to my mom without her freaking out. “I’m working as an assistant to a photographer.”
“That’s lovely, dear. What’s her name?”
Another curse to Donald.
“His name’s Alix Wexler. And before you ask, he’s a nice young man, Mam.”
“Is he of the faith?”
I stifled a laugh. “I don’t believe so. We don’t really talk about that sort of thing.”
And there was no way in hell I’d be telling my mam what it was the two of us did talk about, because that was not the sort of thing that was fit conversation between mother and daughter. Especially when said mother would probably fly here and drag me to church if she ever found out what I was doing.
“Does he treat you well?”
I was pretty certain that her idea of treating me well didn’t include the multiple orgasms he’d given me, but I’d just leave it at an affirmative answer.
“Yes, Mam, he does.”
“If he ever...”
“Mam.” I sighed.
She kept going, just like I’d known she would. “You listen to me, Sine Janet McNiven, there may be an ocean between us, but your family will always be there when you need us. Are ya hearin’ that?”
“Yes, Mam.” I sniffled, suddenly realizing that I’d teared up.
As we finished up our conversation, I promised myself that part of that insane amount of money that Alix was
paying me would go toward a ticket for a trip back home. But just a trip. I was more determined than ever to remain in America for life.
17
Sine
I’d called off work yesterday, even though I hated doing it. I never liked missing work, even when I hadn’t enjoyed what I was doing. What was happening between Alix and me made it harder. Especially when he hadn’t answered his phone either time I’d called. Not wanting to seem desperate, I simply left him a voicemail saying that I was sick and hoped that his not answering hadn’t been due to any awkwardness about what happened last week. We’d been fine together on Friday, but there was always the chance that he’d been acting and the weekend had given him the time to reconsider.
My palms were sweating as I approached the studio. I wasn’t assuming or asking for anything, but I had two contracts with Alix, so I could walk in there without anything but work on my mind, and it wouldn’t be a lie.
Not entirely.
The door was locked when I reached it, but that wasn’t out of the norm. If Alix was focused on something, he didn’t always remember to check the time. I punched in the code he’d given me for instances such as this, then went inside.
I made it halfway across the main floor before I realized I wasn’t alone.
“Sine, right?”
A woman’s voice came from the couch. I mustered a polite smile as I turned to see Giselle lounging there. She had that fake casual thing going on, the kind that said it took a lot of work to be so nonchalant.
“Good morning, Giselle,” I said.
She fluttered her red tipped fingers at me. “When Alix heard my job was completed, he asked me to come back in and finish up his series.”
Was she talking about my series? The one he’d said I’d inspired? The one that he hadn’t been able to see anyone else doing?
“I’ll leave you two to it, then.” I nodded at her before turning and heading to my office.
Alix didn’t owe me anything. The contract for modeling had been at his discretion. Either one of us had the ability to end it whenever we wished. It was for that reason we had a second contract for my work as his assistant, so that even if he chose to discontinue the series, or it reached its natural conclusion, I would still have a job.
Giselle was a professional. It made sense that Alix would want to work with her. My own time in front of the camera had been a fluke, nothing more. I’d told myself that every time I was there, and I thought I’d been listening.
I never imagined how much it would sting to see Alix move to another model. Then again, it was coming as quite a surprise. If it had happened right after we slept together the first time, I would’ve thought that he’d gotten what he wanted. But we’d proven that sex hadn’t needed to change anything.
Or that’s what I’d thought, anyway.
But that wasn’t what I needed to focus on. I’d been gone yesterday, and I needed to get caught up on things. If I fell too far behind, I could lose this job too. And this was a job I was qualified to perform, one I liked and felt competent doing.
So, I did what I did best. I organized and filed and attended to all the little details that most people let fall through the cracks.
I flipped on the radio and tried not to think about what Alix and Giselle were doing on the other side of my door. A door I’d closed on the off chance that they were saying things I didn’t want to hear.
Like how foolish Alix had been to think that I could give him the sort of quality work that could compare to anything Giselle could provide.
I didn’t think Alix would be cruel, but an admission such as that, no matter how kindly spoken, would still hurt. Better to keep my dignity through ignorance than be hurt by some innocuous remark from someone I’d come to consider, at the very least, a friend.
The hours crept by as I struggled to keep from glancing at the clock every five minutes. By the time eleven o’clock came, I couldn’t wait any longer for lunch. I needed to get some air.
I felt a bit childish, opening the door a crack and listening, but I didn’t want to risk walking out into something that would only lead to embarrassment for all involved. When I didn’t hear anything, I ventured out, not taking my usual care to keep my steps as quiet as possible so as not to disturb Alix when he was working. I preferred to err on the side of giving them time to finish whatever it was they were doing, professionally or otherwise.
I didn’t see Alix when I entered the main studio area, but Giselle was difficult to miss. She lay sprawled out on the pillows in the usual staging area, those ebony curls of hers spread out, and every inch of her perfect skin visible.
So much for not taking nudes.
“I hope we didn’t bother you,” Giselle said with a self-satisfied smile. “Things were getting a bit...noisy out here, what with all the moving things around.”
“I had the radio on,” I said, keeping my tone even.
“Are you going for lunch?” she asked, lazily stretching her arms above her head.
“Do you or Alix want anything?” I asked, refusing to react to her attempts at baiting me into making a scene.
“Well, we did work up an appetite,” she said with a self-satisfied smirk. “But I’m not sure if he’s ready to take a break yet.”
“I’ll ask him myself,” I said, my stomach clenching at yet another innuendo. “Just to be sure.”
She shrugged, then stretched lazily, her full breasts rising and falling. “He’s in the bathroom cleaning up. Well, that and making sure I didn’t draw blood.” She wiggled her fingers at me, manicured nails painted a rich crimson. “I may have gotten a little carried away. You understand how that goes, right?”
My stomach heaved. She had to be guessing because Alix never would have told her that he and I had slept together. Unless it’d been brought up in the context of how he moved on from me so sex with her wouldn’t be stepping on anyone’s toes. Maybe I’d had it all wrong from the beginning. Maybe Alix had been playing me from moment one and Giselle was looking out for me.
Either way, I refused to show either of them how my insides were being torn up.
“If either of you changes your mind and want me to bring something back for you, just give me a call.” I made my words even and mild, without a hint of what was lurking below the surface of my skin. Then I turned and walked away, my pace deliberately unhurried, as if I wasn’t dying to rush outside so I didn’t risk seeing Alix.
I’d known this was a bad idea from the beginning, so I didn’t have anyone to blame but myself. The only bright side I could see was that Mam wouldn’t be able to give me her usual I told you so.
It didn’t prevent me from hearing the words echo through my head anyway, each one reminding me of how I screwed up.
18
Alix
“What the hell did you do?”
I blinked. “Have we progressed past civilized greetings now, Jean?”
Her voice didn’t soften any. “When you do exactly the opposite of what I ask you to do, yes, I move past being civilized.”
I was thoroughly confused, but I took a moment to watch the town car disappear around the corner before turning away from the window.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I picked up the wine glasses and carried them to the sink while I waited for an explanation.
“You have no idea why I got a call from your assistant slash model telling me that you’ll need a new assistant, and that she doesn’t plan to sign the release papers for the photos you’ve already taken?”
I frowned. “What?”
“That’s exactly what I said.”
Her words ran through my brain again, but I didn’t understand them anymore this time than I had the first time.
“I’m serious, Jean. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I’d intended to clear the table while I was on the phone, but now all I could think was that something had gone terribly wrong.
“Why don’t you start fr
om the beginning?” I suggested.
Jean let out a huff of air. “Sine McNiven. The assistant you didn’t want. The one I told you to behave yourself with. The one you decided to turn into a half-naked model.”
“I know who she is,” I snapped.
“Good,” Jean snapped right back, “because I was starting to wonder if you’d hit your head or been on drugs or something.”
A little flare of panic went off. Jean had always been tough, and she’d never put up with any shit from me, but I’d never heard her like this before. She was genuinely pissed at me.
“What happened to Sine?” I found my fingers tightening on my phone.
“She called me about twenty minutes ago and said that she wouldn’t be able to work for you anymore, that she was sorry, but you would need to find a new assistant. When I asked her why, she said that she realized it’s not a good fit.”
Not a good fit? What the hell did that mean?
“Then she said that she had second thoughts about posing for you, that her religious mother would have a heart attack if she ever found out about it.”
“And you just let her hang up after that?”
Silence.
I backpedaled. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me.”
“Yes, it was.”
“This is all just catching me off-guard,” I admitted. “I wasn’t in the studio today, and she called in sick yesterday.”
“Where were you today?”
“My parents came to the city to surprise me.” I ran my hand through my hair. Was it possible that less than fifteen minutes ago, I’d seen them off? It seemed like a lifetime had passed. “I put a note on the studio door. I figured that Sine would appreciate another day off since she wasn’t feeling well.”